


Henry

by TanyaReed



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-16
Updated: 2013-03-16
Packaged: 2017-12-05 11:45:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/722917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TanyaReed/pseuds/TanyaReed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love is more powerful than magic, especially dark magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Henry

Regina Mills was a cold woman.  Cold and hard.  She'd been so for so long that she had almost forgotten what it was like to be anything else.

She had killed.  In some cases, she had even done it with her bare hands. She could remember the exquisite feeling of holding a heart in her hand and squeezing it until the beating stopped and it turned to dust.

Murder wasn't the worst of her crimes.  She had committed so many that they had become a part of her.  They were like armor, and they wrapped themselves around her soul until it was trapped in darkness.  All of her emotions were behind that wall of evil, and the only ones able to break through were pain, anger, and indifference.

Sometimes late at night, she sat alone in the dark, wondering what it would be like to be able to feel something else again.  It was at these times that the girl she used to be haunted her, and she almost envied the poor blind fools who had fallen under her curse.  Eighteen years they had been living in a fog, repeating the same day over and over again, and still most of them seemed happy.

Regina was...not.  Somehow, the curse that had been meant to produce her happily ever after had trapped her instead.  She was still queen, she still had all the power, but she had nothing else.  Her soul was hidden and her heart was empty.  In those times, when she was most honest with herself, she wondered what it all meant and whether it had all been worth it just to keep Snow White from her prince.

It was on one of these nights that she sat in her study, staring at the tree trunks that lined the paper on the wall.  Instead of a drink, her hand held a pacifier, and while the same thoughts whirled in her head, they were tinged with hope.

Regina was waiting.  It seemed as if she had been waiting forever when she heard the front door open.  There was no knock, and it was so late, that she knew who entered.

Suddenly nervous, Regina stood, placing the pacifier on the desk.  Her features were schooled when the dark cloaked figure came through the door, but her stomach was fluttering.

"Do you have him?"  Her voice cracked slightly.

"Of course, Mayor."  The man stepped out of the shadows and she could see he was indeed holding something in his arms.

The bundle squirmed and let out a desperate wail.  Regina's breath caught, and she hurried forward.

"Is he all right?"

"Just frightened."  Mr. Gold smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile.  Regina felt a chill as she wondered if he remembered more than he let on.

Gold flipped over the blanket covering the bundle to show Regina a round, chubby face.  It was contorted with the effort of crying, and little fists were clenched.

"Can't you sooth him?"

Gold shrugged.  "You're his mother.  That's your job."

Regina suddenly realized that she knew nothing of babies.  It had been decades since anything could intimidate her, but she found herself suddenly frightened by a tiny baby.

This had been a mistake.

She was just about to tell Gold this when he thrust the child towards her. With nothing else to do, Regina took the baby in her arms.  Almost immediately, he quieted, and Regina looked down in wonder.

Red cheeked and wet faced, the boy she had decided to call Henry looked up at her with bright, inquisitive eyes.

"Well, hello," she said softly, ignoring the smirk on Gold's face.

Henry brought one of his fists up and started sucking on it.  Warmed by the sight, Regina smiled.  He was so beautiful that it almost hurt.

Bending to kiss her son, Regina felt a strange feeling in her chest.  The wall around her soul cracked, and the barest hint of light leaked through.


End file.
